Posts Tagged ‘tahoe wildflower hikes’

I’m not sure if it’s because I somehow became a little more refined since my last birthday or it’s because we had such a late (and great) ski season, but this is the most abundant crop of wildflowers I’ve ever noticed in Tahoe.

You can see wildflowers in any sloppy backyard, unimproved road culvert and lovely meadow, the likes of which appear to have been stolen from the best hiking guide books. The most opulent of Tahoe’s wildflower scene is probably the lupin. These statues are really neat because down at lake level you’ll see them blooming over a foot long, but take a walk to locations higher up (like Paige Meadows directly accessible from Granlibakken via the Tahoe Rim Trail in our back 40) and you’ll see that these hardy veggies shrink in size with substantial elevation gain. On the upper Mt. Rose Meadows you’ll see these babies at around 9000′ and they’re 1/3 of the size. It’s a very cool way to witness Mother Nature at her smartest – and it appeals to those who’ve never hiked a day in their lives because the flowers’ size is reminiscent of those mini-corn cobs found in any self-respecting casino buffet line.

For more info and actually accurate florsal information, surf a little online, visit the Tahoe City Library and grab a book on the subject or get jumpstarted with this link.

By the way, this post was so-named in reference to Fleur du Lac – the former Kaiser Estate in Homewood; incidentally this was the site for some of the scenes in the movieGodfather II.